Case Information
*1 OFFtCE OF THE AtTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN
Honorable Ceorg4 H. Shqqard
Comptroller of Public Aooounts
Austin, Texas
Deer Sir:
aJ JOtAr letkr 1959, ~appLaa4nt-
ed b;l your8 of k ii the TituiJ Coun- ty Balr and ml the prim state for l warU tax te o rnon~8 Annotated &%bairy Shor is held
11, and runs ror s day8 QS9 fair wata Sapt 16th no. For lQSS, date0 h. Uo doubt the bates
e @ornowhere around thorn datots. ion fee or 10 wita r0r ohlltlren or adult4 ar4 ahargsd, exoept 01) mhloh is usually on Twmsdap they On Weduesday of the fair, oye ana girls are admitted irem, wh%oh inoludes 4Zi Club boys and girls and VoOatieaal boys.
"~04, thme is a oarnlval playfug on tha grounda, a8 it wouldnt be a fair if you ditln*t have that in 44nm4tion, ride8 ror ohlldren and thq youngm orowd and aide showa and oon- oeeslone that uruellp go with the oarniral, and *2 I.46 Honorable George H. Sheppard, Fat?* Z
for that privilege they give the Fair Asen 155 or the grow3 on show8 and rides. "This paet 1939 Fair, the Sohool children the County had a programma In wont or the
grand atand whloh wae~ free to all that wished to Bee it, this waas on Tuerday Night; On wed- nesday Might there was a double pub110 wedding put on by the 10081 paople of the town, whioh warn also free; On Thumday &ight in front of the grand stand war e programma of band 4111414, by ZLt. Pleasant High School Emnd and Oilmer Iiigh Sohool Band, this was alao free; On Friday Bight and on Saturday Eight the two automobiles were given away, free. There MII no horae raoer, saddle ahow, or danae in oonneotlon with the fair where a eeparato admisrion oharged. The only ahargo made to enter the rair ground6 wall the above 10 eta aad 8% 4t8, and you were privilege to do a8 you please, 8eo the agrioultrrral 0x0 wonmn*s exhlbitr, hop oluba exhibit8 hlbita, the cattle exhibits and horserr and mule exhibit&, and the above that I have outllnad, without any further oharge or expanne.
*The premlama listed in the Fair Gatalogue a&m&ted to $1,640,00 and hl.1 taken ior 19S9 iOr the various l xhlbitora. The gate admiselon Too and the carnival o6noemrlons ie~ where the Sair Aoaociation 8eoure8 the money to get the $1,000 offarad in premium8 and to pay the insurance on the bulldlags, to pay for labor and help in put- ting a rair on, and to make adtlitional lmprove- manta ae are nredod rroffi t&ma to time ror l aoh annual talr . wo salaries am pai& to any 0rri- olsli so dividends are paid to stockholdera, but any earnings made over end above expense of putting on a fair, if any, gose ba4k into the plant In addit%4nal premiums and new improvements r0r the nsxt year's tab.
"The Soye Soout have their hut on the iair grounder whioh they use free of cost; The Axiterloan Legion have thair building on the Brais groundr, where they have their meetinga., tree of ooati The Rome Demonstration women of the Oounty have their building on the ground uee free of oorrt to them; *3 iionareble 04org4 H. Shepgw4, mite 8 - _ have th?lr-
Th4 Xount~Pl4asant Ba?eball-Club granastana ana axsm4na on tne ram gxtouaas rmo _ - -.
0r oost to th4m, aa th4 gmwa6 are Open t0
any other public 4nterprlse or organlssition of
a public nature. U44tlngs o? a pub110 nature
are held qul4t 0?ten at thr Fair Park, ?re4.*
For th4 purpoaee
or oomputlng tax liabllitl48, Artiole 7047r-(a), V4rnon's Annotat4a Civl& Statut48, pro- vi408 a8 r0110rrst
*(aI Xver~ wreon. rim. or oormmtlon oi something o? valu4~16 off4rra or glv4n to one or m0re patrons o? eaoh th4atr4, plaa4 0r
amus4mnt, or businree enterprise, and not ginn to nil patron8 therw? palingthe mm4 oharge for any oertaln 64rvio4, 00erPoalty, or mater-
talnm4nt, shall s&6 a vrriried monthly lvport on th4 twentp?iith dam of eaoh aontb to the
Oamptrolleti or Publio Aooeaate of the,StaC;e o?
Texas, shoring th4 amount O? m0n4y 60 giv4n in priue, and t&a value of all prlsee or awards in o6nneotl6n with suoh btulnesrs dux-
so given ing th4 next pzuoeding mnth.~ Art1014 7047?-(b), Q&vi1 Btat- Vernoa~e AmeUteQ ut46, levies t&e ?oLlting tax:
a(b) Ther4 $6 hereby 14~248 8 tax aQUa te twenty per 04nt (80%) of the value o?.&ll l uoh
0on4J, prbes, and awards giv4n In 0onneOtlen
wlth the operation a? eaoh land all of *he ion-
oln business en~rprf648,and at the~tlme~
~gEp nor kg the report to tb f%mptroUmr mbllo
Ao44unt6, th6 owned- or &eXWiW of any suah
business shell pay to the State Tmaeurm auoh
tax upon the total amount 0r money, pr14~88, and awards so given during next prooedhg aonth.
. . ..”
st is maniieat that the inol44noe O? this tax 14~7 is lid46 to pro244 01~ awards 0rr4ma er glv4n in oeoneotlon with thi oppatlon *a theatre, plaai or am&- emt, or any bueinese entergrl84 = and does nOt r4aoh giving
1.48 - Eonorable George E. Sheppard, PSg4 4
0r prises or award6 under any other 4onditione or in eon- neotion with any other project8 or eituation8. tie hav4 her4 then no general prize or award tax levied upon the giving of prize4 or awards, a4 such, but only 4 restriOted tax or twenty psr cant (i!t$) o? the value o? money pcice6 or awards given in conneotlon wltt the operation of “‘a theStr4, ~140s or amuesment, or any business enterprise.* It r0n0w6 then, tbet ir the Titus County Fair and Dairy show does not tall within the above claeSlrloation, the twenty per cent (&O$) price or award tax upon the ~41~4 the-automobile given away in oonneotion with auah fair does not aoorue.
It 1s our conoluslon that the Titus County Fair end Dairy Show, organized and oouduoted as outlined in the r0r0g0ing raotual statement, tuxl county rafra as gen4rally organized and conduoted, oannot be phoed within the statu- tory olaeeirloation o? *a thoatre, plaoe of amueeaent, or any bueinese enterprise* without defeating the fnt4nt and purpos4 or the Lagielature, gathered troa the entire A4t.
fn u8i.ng the term Wthsatrem or Wplaoe of aQAu8ement" the ImgiSlStur4 or Texas aid not purposa to oreate Snather end alrrment olaasirlostlon or eubjeots.ror taxatlan, but merely to single out two type8 or 8peele6 of the all-•mbrSolng genus or olae8iiloatlon or wbu8in4s6 dlnterprise.* The reason ror this-aotlon r4fkaily appear6 rhan~we,ex6&Ae. 3h4 legie&tiv4 this tax measure ana the aJ.leged~erilS sought to hlatory be rsaohed by this admittedly eshorbltan$tat. At and berore the p486Sg4 'Of thin statute the *JkUlk Right" +Mil of aWal.6 ing prlr+es to the patron8 0r theatres and, mobn pioture hoU8eS was~in ruli ilower, not having yet been, 8trSeken a0*m Out 0: abundant Oautlon;‘~~ieot perohm by our Supreme Court.
this method or prize-giving should esoape the onus of this tax, the Leglelature advleedlp used the t4rm4 %heatre* and wpkice 0r simuSsment,* in Saaltl0n to the general 4]aSSifiOS- tion of "any buaineee 8nterpriee.a, But we aubmlt that if such ~th4etreW or"plaoe or amueementW fa not aonduoted 44 4 Wbu4ine4e eoterpriee ,n prizes given in oonneotlon therewith are not taxable.
WO are assletea in reaching thla oonoluelon by a glanas at other parts 0r this i&t. A reiarence to the caption of so-oalled ormlbua Bill refers to the tax involved here in oonneotlon with Ybueine4e enter- as a tax on prizes given prieea .* Moreover, SubalvlSlon (b) or Artlole 7047?, Vernon18 Annotated civil statutes, leviee 4 tax 0r twenty per oent
.-
449 - Honorable George I?. Lheppsrd, Page 6
(SW) or the value or money, prizes and awards aglven ln oonneotlon with the operation of saoh and all of the fore- 'going business enterprlses.w Rers the Legislature, In maklna the aotual tar levy. did not reueat the terms nthea<re” or “place of a&enientn used- in Subdlvl slon (a) of this artiole for reasons hereinabove au&Seated, but levied this tax upon prizes given in comectlon with the "foregoing buslness enterprises," meaning to lnolude "theatres" and "places of emsement." Therefore, wa say that a prize or award given in oonneotlon with the opera- tion of a "theatrev or "plsoe of amusement" is not taxable unless such “theatre” or *place ot amusement” is a wbuslnesa enterprise."
The Titus County I‘alr and Dairy Show, operated and conducted a8 above outlined, 16 manlrestly not a *theatram; end me rubmlt, from the faotual statement upon whloh this opinion turne, that it is not any kind of a nbuul.neerr +arprlse ,* whether “plaoe oi amsementa or other rarlant mbuslnes8 enterpr1ee.v Amusement enou& is there ror man and boy - speotaoular~ridea', wonders gathered rrom the five oontinents and seven seas, but the institution known ae woouutv rair” la darlnltelv not a %laoe of amuae- xte~ justlrleatlon and moving purpose is eduaation and tax. in the products of field; farmand iaOtery. lnutruotlon
St is the opinion or this'departmnt that no tax I aoorues to the State of Texas under Artlole VXW, VernonWe
Annotated Civil Statutea, against the Titus County Fair and Dairy Show by reason of the award or prize given in the form ot an automobile, In oonnectlon with such Fair on Septambsr m, 1939.
Yours very truly ATTORRRY GENERAL OF TEXAS BY
hssietant PMN:wC
APPRWEDDEC 23; 1939 ~3kLd
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